Question: Simplify the following expression: $k = \dfrac{p^2 + 4p - 12}{p - 2} $
Answer: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ p^2 + 4p - 12 = (p - 2)(p + 6) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $k = \dfrac{(p - 2)(p + 6)}{p - 2} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(p - 2)$ on condition that $p \neq 2$ Therefore $k = p + 6; p \neq 2$